Systems and methods for creating a honeycomb core with venting pathways
A method for creating a honeycomb core having venting pathways includes controlling where a resin is applied to sheets to form the venting pathways. A honeycomb substrate is then formed from the sheets.
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The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for creating cores. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to systems and methods for creating cores having venting pathways.
BACKGROUNDDecorative or interior panels and acoustic panels made from a composite part are used in many industries. The composite part includes a honeycomb core with one or more surface plies or laminates applied to the honeycomb core. The honeycomb core separates the surface plies by spacing the surface plies apart and adding thickness to the panel, thus increasing bending strength of the panel. However, during manufacturing of the composite part, especially in Out of Autoclave (OOA) production systems, volatiles are generated and may be sealed inside the composite part since the walls of the honeycomb core may not be permeable or porous enough to allow the volatiles to escape. During the lifetime of the composite part outgassing volatiles may result in quality issues such as bubbling on the decorative surface or delamination.
Various solutions have been provided to address the issue of unvented volatiles in honeycomb cores. These solutions include increasing the processing time to create the composite part in order to allow degassing and adding additional processing steps to score the composite part. However, these solutions may increase the cost of manufacturing.
Thus, there is a need in the art for systems and methods for creating composite parts with cores that permit low cost venting and degassing pathways.
SUMMARY
According to one aspect, a method for creating a honeycomb core having venting pathways is provided. The method includes controlling where a resin is applied to sheets to form the venting pathways. A honeycomb substrate is then formed from the sheets.
According to another aspect, a honeycomb core is provided. The honeycomb core includes a honeycomb substrate having a number of open cells, a resin skin disposed overtop the honeycomb substrate, and venting pathways disposed in the resin skin that communicate between the open cells.
According to yet another aspect, a section is provided. The section includes a number of sheets stacked one upon another to form the section. Each of the sheets includes a resin affinity portion and a resin repellant portion.
The features, functions, and advantages that have been discussed may be achieved independently in various aspects or may be combined in other aspects further details of which can be seen with reference to the following description and drawings.
The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.
The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses.
Referring to
The system 10 includes a sheet 12 that is fed into a first machine 14. The sheet 12 may be roll fed using a roll of material fed in a continuous process (not shown) into the first machine 14 or sheet fed, as illustrated in
The first machine 14 is configured to apply a first phase of treatment onto the sheet 12. The first phase of treatment includes applying one of a resin repellant or a resin affinity material 16 onto the sheet 12 to create a resin affinity portion 12A and a resin repellant portion 12B. In the example where the sheet 12 is a resin affinity material, the first machine 14 applies a resin repellant onto the sheet 12. Thus, exposed areas of the sheet 12 form the resin affinity portion 12A while areas covered by the resin repellant form the resin repellant portion 12B. Where the sheet 12 is a resin repellant material, the first machine 14 applies a resin affinity material onto the sheet 12. Thus, exposed areas of the sheet 12 form the resin repellant portion 12B while areas covered by the resin affinity material form the resin affinity portion 12A. The resin repellant or resin affinity material 16 is applied in a regular pattern onto a surface 18 of the sheet 12. In another aspect, the resin repellant or resin affinity material 16 may be applied in an irregular pattern (not shown). The shape and pattern of the resin repellant or resin affinity material 16 may vary without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In the example provided, the resin repellant or resin affinity material 16 is disposed on the surface 18 as discrete dots 16A arranged in parallel rows 16B to provide regular venting pathways (not shown in
The first machine 14 may apply the first phase of treatment onto the sheet 12 in various ways, including printing and coating. Turning briefly to
In another aspect, the resin repellant or resin affinity material 16 is coated onto the sheet 12. The coating includes at least one of coating with and a rotary screen coating or a mesh screen coating. Turning briefly to
Returning to
A number of the sheets 12 are then stacked to form a block 40. As noted above, the sheets 12 have alternating strips of adhesive 38. The strips 38A of adhesives 38 and the strips 38B of adhesives 38 adhere the sheets 12 together. The adhesives 38 may be allowed to cure before optionally slicing or cutting the block 40 into sections 42. The sections 42 are then placed into a third machine 44 for expanding the sections 42 to form a honeycomb substrate 46. The honeycomb substrate 46 includes a number of open cells 47 arranged in a honeycomb-like configuration.
The honeycomb substrate 46 is then placed into a dip coating machine 48 to apply a resin over the honeycomb substrate 46. The resin adheres to the resin affinity portions 12A and does not adhere to the resin repellant portions 12B. The resin is preferably a phenolic resin having a surface energy ranging from 40 to 50 dyn/cm. The resin may also include Epoxy and polyester resins. The resin repellant portions 12B, where no resin is adhered to the honeycomb substrate 46, will form venting pathways, as will be described in greater detail below.
The honeycomb substrate 46 is then removed from the dip coating machine 48 and placed in a curing machine 50. The curing machine 50, such as an autoclave, cures the resin on the honeycomb substrate 46 at an elevated temperature. Once cured, the honeycomb substrate 46 is placed in a degrading machine 52. The degrading machine 52 degrades the resin repellant portion 12B to form a honeycomb core 60, shown in
With reference to
Next, at block 104, the honeycomb substrate 46 is formed by applying the adhesive 38 to the sheets 12 and stacking the sheets 12 to form the block 40. The adhesive 38 is applied in strips 38A and strips 38B that are offset from one another on alternating sheets 12. The block 40 is then expanded by the third machine 44 to form the honeycomb substrate 46. It should be appreciated that the block 40 may be cut into sections 42 before or after entering the third machine 44. The method then proceeds to block 106.
At block 106 the resin is applied to the honeycomb substrate 46. The resin will adhere to the resin affinity portions 12A and not adhere to the resin repellant portions 12B. The resin is then cured to form the honeycomb core 60.
At block 108 either the resin affinity portion 12A or the resin repellant portion 12B is degraded by the degrading machine 52. The degrading machine 52 includes at least one of washing the resin repellant portion 12B in a solvent, thermally degrading the resin repellant portion 12B, or gravity floating the resin repellant portion 12B. Degrading the resin repellant portion 12B forms the venting pathways 68 in the honeycomb core 60. In one aspect, the curing machine 50 and the degrading machine 52 are the same machine and heating during curing degrades the resin repellant portion 12B.
With reference to
Next, at block 304, the adhesive 38 is printed on the sheets 12 by the adhesive printer 78. The adhesive 38 is printed in strips 38A and strips 38B that are offset from one another on alternating sheets 12. At block 306 the sheets 12 are stacked to form the block 40. The adhesive 38 adheres the sheets 12 together. At block 308 the honeycomb core 60 is formed by expanding the block 40 using the third machine 44. At block 310 the honeycomb core 60 is cured by the curing machine 50 and the method 300 ends.
The honeycomb core 60 produced using the system 10 with method 100 and the system 200 with the method 300 may be used in various composite parts. The venting pathways 68 allow volatile gasses to escape the honeycomb core 60 without damaging any laminates or surface sheets that may be applied during post processing.
Aspects of the system 10 and the system 200 described above, as well as the method 100 and the method 300, may be employed in the context of an aircraft manufacturing and service method 500 as shown in
Each of the processes of the systems and methods described herein may be performed or carried out by a system integrator, a third party, and/or an operator (e.g., a customer). For the purposes of this description, a system integrator may include without limitation any number of aircraft manufacturers and major-system subcontractors; a third party may include without limitation any number of venders, subcontractors, and suppliers; and an operator may be an airline, leasing company, military entity, service organization, and so on.
As shown in
The system and methods described above may be employed during any one or more of the stages of the exemplary method 500. For example, components or subassemblies corresponding to component and subassembly manufacturing 508 may be fabricated or manufactured in a manner similar to components or subassemblies produced while the aircraft 502 is in service. Also, one or more apparatus aspects, method aspects, or a combination thereof may be utilized during the component and subassembly manufacturing 508 and system integration 510, for example, by substantially expediting assembly of or reducing the cost of an aircraft 502. Similarly, one or more of apparatus aspects, method aspects, or a combination thereof may be utilized while the aircraft 502 is in service, for example and without limitation, to maintenance and service 516. Aspects of the system 10 and the system 200 described above, as well as the methods 100 and 300, may be employed with the component and subassembly manufacturing 508, the system integration 510, the routine maintenance and service 516, the airframe 518, and the interior 522.
The description of the present disclosure is merely exemplary in nature and variations that do not depart from the gist of the present disclosure are intended to be within the scope of the present disclosure. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.
Claims
1. A method for creating a honeycomb core having venting pathways, the method comprising:
- printing a resin onto sheets to form locations with resin and locations with no resin, wherein the sheets are non-porous to venting gas prior to printing the resin;
- printing an adhesive onto the sheets after the resin has been applied, wherein the adhesive is different than the resin;
- forming a honeycomb substrate from the sheets;
- forming the honeycomb core from the honeycomb substrate; and
- degrading the sheets to make the sheets porous at the locations with no resin, wherein the venting pathways are defined by all the locations with no resin that are degraded.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein forming the honeycomb substrate includes stacking the sheets to form a block.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein forming the honeycomb core from the honeycomb substrate includes expanding the block to form the honeycomb core.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising curing the resin.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising applying a desiccant to the sheets.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising applying at least one of an e-ink, an antimicrobial material, a fire-retardant material, an activated charcoal, and an intumescent material to the sheets.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising stacking the sheets prior to forming the honeycomb substrate.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising stacking the sheets and adhering the sheets together where the printed adhesive is located to form a block.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising expanding the block to form the honeycomb core.
10. The method of claim 7, further comprising printing the resin only on one side of each of the sheets.
11. The method of claim 7, further comprising printing the resin on each side of each of the sheets.
12. The method of claim 1, further comprising perforating the sheets to form holes.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein the sheets are comprised of one of a non-porous cellulose paper, thermoplastic, Aluminum, and non-porous fabric.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein printing the resin onto the sheets includes forming openings in the resin to define the venting pathways.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein the resin is applied by a resin printer.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the adhesive is applied by an adhesive printer separate from the resin printer.
17. The method of claim 1, wherein printing the resin includes at least one of digital printing, screen printing, lithography printing, flexography printing, and offset printing.
18. The method of claim 12, wherein the resin is printed on the sheets to form openings that communicate with the holes in the sheets.
19. A method for creating a honeycomb core having venting pathways, the method comprising:
- printing a resin onto sheets to form locations with resin and locations with no resin, wherein the sheets are non-porous to venting gas prior to printing the resin;
- printing an adhesive onto the sheets after the resin has been applied, wherein the adhesive is different than the resin;
- forming a honeycomb substrate from the sheets by stacking the sheets to form a block;
- forming the honeycomb core from the honeycomb substrate by expanding the block;
- curing the resin; and
- degrading the sheets to make the sheets porous at the locations with no resin, wherein the venting pathways are defined by all the locations with no resin that are degraded.
20. The method of claim 19, further comprising applying a desiccant to the sheets.
21. The method of claim 19, further comprising applying at least one of an e-ink, an antimicrobial material, a fire-retardant material, an activated charcoal, and an intumescent material to the sheets.
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Type: Grant
Filed: Mar 25, 2019
Date of Patent: Oct 25, 2022
Patent Publication Number: 20200307135
Assignee: The Boeing Company (Chicago, IL)
Inventors: John C. Wilde (Mill Creek, WA), Xiaoxi Wang (Mukilteo, WA), Jason W. Drexler (Brier, WA)
Primary Examiner: John L Goff, II
Application Number: 16/363,568
International Classification: B29D 99/00 (20100101); B32B 3/12 (20060101); B29C 65/52 (20060101); B41M 3/00 (20060101); B29L 31/60 (20060101);